The Analyst: Ian Whittaker on the future of media June 15, 2021 Ian Whittaker has been a City analyst for more than two decades, and what he doesn’t know about media, advertising and the creative services industry isn’t worth knowing. Here’s his first monthly column for City A.M. After twenty years covering media, technology, and everything else in between, it’s always tempting to look back and marvel [...]
Industry rages as UK prepares to scrap half of tariffs on steel imports June 11, 2021 The government is set to scrap half of its current steel imports safeguards, it was announced today, sparking cries of outrage from an already struggling industry. In 2019 the EU introduced the quotas to prevent the bloc from being flooded by excess steel products after Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs against imports to [...]
Wall Street edges higher as inflation fears fade while FTSE jumps June 11, 2021 Wall Street’s main indexes opened higher today after inflation data calmed concerns over a long-term spike in consumer prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 per cent, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.15 per cent at the open. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.1 per cent after a week in which tech [...]
How are vaccine programmes progressing in emerging markets? June 11, 2021 Some emerging markets will be vulnerable to renewed activity restrictions in the coming months. For investors, this will require careful monitoring. The roll out of Covid-19 vaccines remains a conundrum facing investors in emerging markets (EM). As we noted late last year, few EM were proactive in securing sufficient supplies of effective vaccines. So they were [...]
UK and US double down on tech collaboration amid China threat June 10, 2021 The UK and the US today agreed to deepen ties in science and tech innovation, as the West looks to stave off growing competition from China. As part of the revised Atlantic Charter agreed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Joe Biden today, the two sides vowed to form a new partnership to create [...]
Wall Street opens higher while FTSE 100 stays in the green June 10, 2021 Wall Street’s main indexes rose today as investors shrugged off a surge in consumer prices that raised concerns of early policy tightening by the Fed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6 per cent, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.4 per cent at the open. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.2 per cent. Wall [...]
UK has ‘no alternative’ to deepening economic ties with China, says minister June 9, 2021 The UK has “no alternative” but to enhance its economic relationship with China in spite of its many human rights abuses, according to a trade minister. Graham Stuart told a House of Lords committee today that “China offers more opportunity to the UK economy than any other market” and that a more comprehensive economic relationship [...]
Wealthy Chinese and Hong Kong nationals flock to the UK via investor visa June 8, 2021 Research by real estate firm Astons has found that wealthy Chinese and Hong Kong nationals are the most likely to head to the country via the UK Tier One Investor visa during the pandemic. Meanwhile, over 34,000 Hong Kong citizens so far this year have applied for the UK’s bespoke BNO visa scheme that was launched [...]
Wall Street flat but FTSE ticks up as investors await inflation data June 7, 2021 Wall Street’s main indexes were muted this afternoon as investors stayed on the fence ahead of key inflation data this week, while tech stocks shrugged off a G7 agreement on a new global corporate tax minimum. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 dipped 0.46 and 0.26 per cent respectively by early evening trading. [...]
China blocks crypto social media accounts amid crackdown June 7, 2021 A string of cryptocurrency-related social media accounts have been blocked in China as Beijing stepped up its crackdown on bitcoin trading and mining. Over the weekend access was blocked to a number of widely-followed accounts on Weibo — the country’s equivalent of Twitter — with a message saying they “violate laws and rules”. Further action [...]